Robot Voice
by Toasthugger
Summary: Jane helps Maura find her Robot Voice.


Disclaimer - I do not own the characters, they belong to TNT and Tess Gerritson.

But I do own the story.

Many thanks to elviswithoutthetassels for the idea and edit.

Husky laughter reverberated down the morgue hallway. Maura tried to hide her smile at the jovial sound of her best friend as she stood and rubbed her hand down her skirt to flatten it out. She picked up the freshly printed report from her in-tray and headed to the door to give to the detective. She liked taking reports up to Jane, but today the thought of the detective coming to visit her gave her a little thrill as she hadn't seen much of her best friend over the past few days.

"And then this one time," Jane said to her companion, "We dared Tommy to poke his tongue in it and it almost took it off." The laughter became louder as the detective neared Maura's office door. Maura could make out the distinctive masculine laugh of Detective Frost as the excited conversation continued. "His tongue was numb for the WHOLE day." The choked laughter echoed through the hallway and into Maura's office as Jane attempted to imitate her brother. As the detectives entered her office, Maura got caught up in their laughter and giggled herself.

"What's funny?" Maura asked, as she tapped her hand along the edge of the report. "How did Tommy's tongue go numb?" Maura asked, as she looked back and forth expectantly between Jane and Frost while she held the report out for Jane.

"Oh, you know," Jane said as she took the report from Maura. "When it's summer, when you're a kid and you talk into the fan to make a robot voice." Maura tilted her head to the side as Jane continued, "Tommy, he stuck his tongue in it one-time"

"The DNA matches Mr Henry" Maura said as she tilted her head to the other side, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked sideways at Jane. "What kind of robot voice?"

Jane barely registered Maura's question as she flicked through the report. "Oh, you know, just a robot voice"

"No. No I don't." Maura said as she dropped her eyes and fidgeted with her ring. Jane noticed the Doctors rare fidget from her peripheral vision and looked up to Maura's face. Instantly Jane felt guilty for the lack of response she had presented to her friend, who hadn't had the same childhood experience as the Rizzoli's.

"When its summer, we would have the fan on really fast, get close to it and start talking. And it becomes your robot voice." Jane said as she handed the report to Frost and turned to leave. "Thanks for this." She said as she pointed to the report. "Let's go Frost. We need to pick up Mr Henry." She turned to Maura and with a quick wink said "I will be back later. Ok"

"Oh, yes." Maura said with a nod. "That's fine Jane. I will see you later."

Maura moved back behind her desk and sat in her chair. She sighed and her eyes flicked around the room and came to an abrupt halt on her bladeless fan. She picked up the bladeless fan and placed it in front of herself. Maura switched on the fan and placed her hands on either side of it and leaned forward. Her lips curled up at the sides as she glanced around her office, a nervous check for casual observers or passers-by. Once she was certain she was alone she began to talk into the fan. "Hello fan, I would like to hear my robot voice" she said. But nothing happened. Her brows knitted in concentration as her mouth lost its child-like smile and enthusiasm. "Fan, I would like my robot voice now" she said with more intensity. She took a deep breath before she demanded "I want my robot voice" to the fan on the desk. Maura stared at the fan "Please?" she tried. Still complete silence.

Unbeknownst to Maura, Jane had been standing outside her office and had overheard to her attempts. Jane had sent Frost up in the lift alone and came back to organise lunch plans with Maura. She had heard Maura as she tried to make a robot voice into the fan. Jane felt the rejection that radiated from Maura as she said "Am I not good enough for a robot voice? Do I have to be popular?" It broke Jane's heart as she imagined what it would have been like for Maura as a child, sitting alone, trying to find ways for people to like her. Jane leaned against the doorway, her lips pressed together, her eyes welled with tears as she compared her own happy childhood to Maura's. It took a fraction of a second for Jane to come up with a plan. She pushed herself away from the door frame, grabbed her phone and called Frost. "Frost, take Frankie or Korsak to pick up Mr Henry and bring him into interrogation. Because I said to, OK?" The sudden break in the silence of Maura's office caused a shocked exclamation from the M.E. In panic, she hurled the fan across the room at the sudden sound. As Jane rushed in at Maura's panicked yelp, the fan landed at her feet, broken in two.

"Jane," Maura said sharply. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to … I didn't see you there."

Jane looked down at the fan. She looked back at Maura and raised an eyebrow. Without a word she strode over to Maura, grabbed her by her arms, pulled out of her chair, through the door and into the lift.

"Jane. Where are we going?" Maura asked.

"You'll see," she replied as she repeatedly jabbed her finger at the lift button until the doors open on the Homicide Division floor. She grasped Maura's hand and pulled her out of the lift and towards the lunch room.

"You know I can walk myself rather efficiently," Maura said as she half-heartedly attempted to pull herself out of Jane's firm grip. A small smile spread across her face as she looked down at their joined hands. She enjoyed Janes determined touch. When they entered the lunch room Jane looked around to make sure that nobody was inside. As she closed the door behind them, she pulled Maura over to the pedestal fan in the corner. The safety guard had rusted and fallen off the fan and its height could no longer be adjusted, so the fan head sat permanently at fifteen inches from the ground. Jane hitched her pants up and sat down directly in front of the fan. She looked up to Maura. "Well?"

"Well what Jane?"

"Sit."

"What? Down there?" Maura said. Her eyes widened, her nostrils flared, mouth contorted and head pulled back as her hands fluttered at the ground.

"No, on the silk sofa under the personal fanning boys. Yes Maura. Down here."

"But the dirt..." Maura said before Jane grabbed her hand again and gently pulled her down.

"You want a robot voice or not? C'mon," Jane said.

Maura relented and sat down very awkwardly as she tried to avoid touching the ground as much as possible. Without warning, Jane turned the fan onto full. "Jane my hair!" Maura protested, her hands jumped up to try and keep her hair in place. But the voice she heard caused her to turn to Jane. "Robot voice?" Maura said. Jane nodded as a smile broke out across her face. Laughter erupted from deep within Maura as she shook Jane's arm and said excitedly into the fan. "Jane. Jane. Jane I've got a robot voice."

"Yeah Maura, you got a robot voice," Jane said as she joined Maura talking into the fan while she watched her with a gentle smile in her eyes and on her lips. Excited that she had found her robot voice, Maura relaxed and sat more comfortably on the ground. She tried different words and sounds while Jane mimicked her and answered her questions, that was until Maura began to sing the Periodic Table Song.

"There's Hydrogen and Helium

Then Lithium, Beryllium Boron, Carbon everywhere

Nitrogen all through the air,

With Oxygen so you can breathe

And Fluorine for your pretty teeth

Neon to light up the signs Sodium for salty times"

Jane became focused on watching Maura's excitement and happiness as she listened to her off key singing. She was so immersed in Maura's joy that, she completely lost track of time and didn't noticed that Korsak had entered the lunch room until she heard him clear his throat. Jane turned towards Korsak, her eyebrows furrowed, her whole body tensed as she said to him through clenched teeth. "What. Is. It?" Maura, unaware of the intrusion continued to sing.

"Magnesium, Aluminium, Silicon Phosphorus, then Sulphur, Chlorine and Argon Potassium, and Calcium so you'll grow strong Scandium, Titanium, Vanadium and Chromium and Manganese,"

Korsak glanced at Maura then Jane before he raised his hands in front of him and backed out of the lunchroom "Nuthin. I didn't see nuthin"

Jane sighed and turned back to Maura who was about to finish her song "Ununtrium, Flerovium Ununpentium, Livermorium Ununseptium, Ununoctium and then we're done."

Maura turned to look at Jane, a bright smile on her face "I understand it now. It's primarily an amplitude modulation effect"

"Huh?" Jane said her eyes widened and her eyebrows raised. "Primates a dude what?"

Maura laughed softly and shook her head. "Amplitude modulation effect. The sound of your voice is reflected back from the blades to your ears." Maura said as she pointed between the fan and Janes ears. "The force creates an intensified sound that uses internal and direct air paths. Each blade would raise the intensity compared to the space between the blades" Maura continued as Jane raised an eyebrow slightly, nodded in agreement and pretended to understand. "Which, of course, is complicated by the shape of the blades and the direction of the reflections, the rotating blades result in a periodic reflection function." Maura turned back towards the fan and spoke softly. Her eyes half closed in concentration, she focused on the fan as she tried to see each individual blade. "There may also be some timing effects from the shape and placement of the blades, also some small Doppler effect due the motion of air and velocity component of the blade of course," Maura mumbled.

"Yes… of course. It's so obvious now" Jane said as she looked sideways at Maura and tried and failed to supress a smile.

"Isn't it?" Maura said distractedly. "Thankyou Jane."

"For what Maur?" Jane said as she lowered her head to be the same height as Maura.

"For giving me my robot voice"

"Anytime Maur. Anytime." Jane replied. The reverence in her voice and on her face as she continued to watch the child-like joy of Maura's enchantment with herself and the fan was clearly evident to Frost, who had just returned from picking up Mr Henry and had been looking for Jane so they could interrogate him, and Korsak as they watched the two friends through the lunchroom door.


End file.
